Claustrophobic Calls Cramped Quarters Cruel

Lucille Tyska, 56, who worked for the township for 18
years, alleges that her former boss, Business Administrator
Bibi Stewart Garvin, assigned her to work in a cluttered
office 6 feet by 8 feet last March, in spite of a doctor’s
note confirming that she suffers from claustrophobia,
according to NorthJersey.com.

Tyska said she was denied the opportunity to change
offices, and had to take prescribed tranquilizers so she
could continue to work in the room, the federal lawsuit
alleges.
A series of incidents followed that only worsened her
condition, eventually forcing her to quit.

The suit alleges Tyska suffered a panic attack on March
30 and had to leave work to get treatment. Her doctor
prescribed bed rest, told her to avoid places that could
worsen the condition, and wrote a second medical note
saying the small office was triggering her claustrophobia,
according to the report.
However, when she returned to work on April 2, the suit
alleges Garvin ordered her back into the same office.
Tyska began to feel claustrophobic again, and her doctor
told her not to go back to work until April 28, later
extending that to May 5. She was then sent to a Westwood
psychiatrist who prescribed antidepressants, according to
the suit.

Things Get Worse

Things got even worse when she returned on May 5.
Tyska said she returned to find her desk bolted to another
and a partition, making the room feel even smaller – and
Garvin then told Tyska that she would still be required to
work in the same office.

According to the suit, the next day Garvin gave Tyska a
letter of reprimand and a notice of disciplinary action,
citing a failure to notify the township of her absence from
work from March 30 to April 7.
He then suspended Tyska for two days for failing to work in
the office she was assigned, for leaving work early without
notifying her, and for failing to comply with her new work
assignment as a file clerk, according to the report.

After receiving the disciplinary notices, the suit
states that Tyska requested half a personal day, but Garvin
refused to grant it. Her password to her work computer was
changed, preventing her from doing her duties. At that
point, Tyska alleges, she was effectively forced out of the
job because she couldn’t tolerate the conditions
anymore.

Tyska, 56, blames her ties to former Mayor Raymond
Darakjian, Paschalis’ political opponent.
“Mayor Paschalis was aware of everything that was going
on,” she said, according to the NorthJersey.com report.
“Ms. Garvin did the work, but he was behind it.”

The lawsuit filed in US District Court in Newark also
names Mayor George Paschalis and township lawyer John
Carbone as defendants.